The Sharks snapped a two-game losing streak by beating the Colorado Avalanche 5-1.

But Friday's final regular-season game at SAP Center will be remembered for the return of rookie Tomas Hertl even if another Czech native - Marty Havlat - shared the spotlight with a natural hat trick in the third period.

Hertl missed less than four months after knee surgery following a Dec. 19 collision with Los Angeles' Dustin Brown. Hertl was scoreless in his first action in 46 games, but had a couple of near misses including a shot from the wing on his first shift.

"That had to make him feel good," coach Todd McLellan said. "You couldn't draw it up any better than that."

Recognized with an ovation when he hit the ice in warm-ups, Hertl was showered with applause when he took his first shift as part of a line that included James Sheppard and Tommy Wingels.

"He was involved in the scoring chances right off the bat," McLellan said. "I'm sure when he came back to the bench he felt confident, felt that he belonged again."

Sporting his familiar wide smile in addition to a seven-inch scar on the inside of his right knee, Hertl downplayed what he accomplished.

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"The knee is OK, I'm just a little bit tired," said Hertl, who had two shots in 15 minutes spread over 19 shifts. "I'm happy we won. Any chances now, not scoring doesn't matter. Playoff time is more important."

The Sharks hit the 50-win mark for the third time in club history, and will cap the regular season with a game on Saturday at Phoenix before opening a first-round playoff series at home against Los Angeles next week. Hertl will get another chance against the Coyotes, who were eliminated from playoff contention when Dallas won Friday.

"The real test will be (Saturday) in back-to-backs, how he feels in the morning," McLellan said. "He played well along the boards and really settled in."

Havlat, meanwhile, enjoyed his first three-goal game as a Shark and his first since Nov. 2, 2005, for Ottawa against Buffalo. He deflected in a Logan Couture shot at 5:26 and added a breakaway goal at 13:40 and an empty-netter at 15:04. Havlat's 12 goals give the Sharks 10 double-figure goal-scorers. Along with an assist early, Havlat enjoyed his first four-point game of the season.

"I'm very happy Marty was scoring today," Hertl said. "It's very good for us, very good before the playoffs. He's still a very good player, a very smart player and a very good guy."

The Sharks jumped all over Colorado's No. 3 goalie, Reto Berra, at the outset. Dan Boyle (No. 12) and Patrick Marleau (No. 33) scored goals and Berra found himself on the bench midway through the first period in favor of J.S. Giguere.

"I thought we did pretty well for a game that didn't mean much points-wise," Boyle said. "We showed up and did what we needed to do."

Briefly: Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and right wing Mike Brown were healthy scratches. ... Left wing Matt Nieto was assigned to Ontario of the ECHL, but is expected back for the playoffs.